A Nashville, Tennessee, duo composed of guitarist and singer-songwriter Damon Atkins, joined by singer and songwriter Rylie Bourne makes up the sounds of LoneHollow. Both songwriters are influenced by Americana and Appalachian sounds, Rylie from her time going to bluegrass festivals with her family in Illinois and Damon from hanging out making music with friends […]
Tom Irwin
Tom Irwin, a sixth-generation Sangamon County resident, has played his songs and music for nearly 40 years in the central Illinois area with occasional forays across the country. He's contributed to Illinois Times since 2000 by writing Now Playing, a weekly music column, as well as features stories and other articles. He resides on the Irwin family farm in rural Pleasant Plains.
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It’s still not fair
As we roll into what would have been the second weekend of the Illinois State Fair for 2020 we can attempt to accept and amply appreciate what the global pandemic from COVID-19 has done to our lives and lifestyle. Our “Not Fair” statement from last week still applies on many levels as we continue to […]
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Solar Chariot
Here comes a band blazing across the Springfield scene horizon, leaving a trail of rocking good jams and intensely produced original songs all for your listening pleasure. Solar Chariot is the vehicle for fired-up working musicians and performing songwriters Nate Cozadd and Josie Lowder, showcasing a potluck of their original songs cooked up to the […]
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Fair thee well
Greetings, music friends and fans! Welcome to the column that normally would be all about the Illinois State Fair, but since there is no fair in 2020, we can reminisce some and ruminate upon the state of the state fair. Does that sound fair to you? I will do my best to avoid using all […]
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Highway 615
These folks take their country music seriously and added the Nashville area code to the band name to make sure you know they do. The road they travel is rooted in the cool country from the last 30 years with a few vintage songs along for the ride and a couple of original tunes hitchhiking […]
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Almost fair
Heading into our first full August weekend of 2020, we’re still staring deep into the pandemic hole that’s taken a toll on our live music scene and those all over the world. As our summer festivals, concerts, fairs and anywhere needing a crowd to be a thing are not happening, we look wherever we can […]
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Guilty Boys
A better moniker could not be invented to match this pair of longtime friends, for these two pals and music makers, Keith Dunlap and Kevin Smith, are indeed some guilty boys. We can proudly say they are extremely guilty of playing good tunes well and being a wonderful act to enjoy, whatever the setting. Along […]
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Into August music
Here we go travelling on through July 2020 and into August, working through the pandemic problems and dealing as best we can with all the issues brought and wrought by this incredibly drastic change in our lifestyles. Let’s see what’s out there to enjoy in live music land. First and foremost, as we do every […]
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JukeRox
This group can play it all and does every time out on the stage, and has the 2019 Illinois Times Best of Springfield Overall Band award as a party band to prove it. Bandmates Janet Morris (vocals), Kylan Davis (vocals, keys), Kent Starr (guitar, keys), Eric Austin (drums), Tim Copp (bass) and Jake Jensen (guitar) […]
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Music marks
Things just keep getting weirder as they also seem to be simultaneously sliding back to what once was normal. In the meantime, music-making helps to keep the strange times in check somewhat by hitting the mark for helpful healing and familiar fun as we do the best we can do. First, let’s remember those frontline […]
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NCR
This lineup has been together for some two years and counting, putting out a mighty musical mix of contemporary and classic country, plus familiar rock and pop songs to keep surprises going, along with the songs you don’t mind hearing again and again. Once known as New City Road, it’s been NCR for quite some […]
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Topsy-turvy times
Welcome to our present state of confusion, where things “feel upside down and not in proper order,” according to the definition of “topsy-turvy.” My mom used the odd phrase to describe our situation back during the initial days of the shelter-in-place order, and the expression seems even more pertinent now in these nonsensical times we’re […]
